In the end there were no maybes about it.

Bermuda’s Scottish residents woke up this morning to discover that their nation had chosen to remain part of the UK.

Opponents of independence won 55 percent of the vote while separatists won 45 percent with all 3.6 million votes — a record 85 percent turnout - counted.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the result meant that the issue of independence had been settled ‘for a generation’.

In the end the 10 percent margin was wider that many expected, given the tensions that had been running high across the UK and beyond in the build up to yesterday’s historic vote.

And with the result still very much in doubt last night, Scots in Bermuda had told of their anxious wait to hear their fate.

Caledonian Society of Bermuda president Mark Lavery, whose mother is Bermudian and father is Scottish, said change was needed.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that Scotland’s place in the current UK political system has left many Scots feeling alienated from the political process in Westminster,” he said. “Change is needed, and Scotland is best placed to build a new political culture and economic model by taking responsibility for governing its own affairs.

“As to whether independence is the best model to achieve such change, ultimately it is up the people who are living there to decide.

“Scots on both sides of the issue can be proud of the way the Scottish referendum has been conducted, as from start to finish it has a true demonstration of democracy in action.

“I will support either outcome because I know it reflects what the people of Scotland want.”

Tensions have been running high during the countdown to the independence vote but Mr Lavery remains “optimistic about Scotland’s future regardless of the outcome”.

“This is a divisive issue and of course there will be strong feelings on either side of the argument in the wake of the final decision,” he said.

“The discussions surrounding the referendum have led people from both sides of the border to review the relationship between Scotland and the rest of the UK — something that I believe has helped bring to light many of the key points of contention and, by extension, changed the public discourse to include finding workable solutions.

“Whether it’s ‘yes’ or ‘no’, this is something that I don’t think will ever be diminished.”

Mr Lavery said an independent Scotland “would be freer to tailor an economic policy that is best suited to the needs of the people in Scotland”.

“A clear benefit of this is that key policy decisions that affect life in Scotland will only be taken with the approval of a parliament elected entirely by the people of Scotland,” he said.

“With new executive powers and control over fiscal and economic matters, for example, the Scottish Parliament could enact legislation to attract new business, and incentivise companies to invest in training and developing Scotland’s people.

“Immediate drawbacks to succession are the sheer number of uncertainties that would inevitably accompany it. At the moment Scotland’s economic, trade and tax policies are intrinsically linked with the rest of the UK. Should Scotland vote ‘yes’, there will be a difficult period of adjustment ahead as the country sets and adopts new economic policies, negotiates new trade agreements, and rebuilds an international identity that is unique from our neighbours to the south.”

Regardless of the result, Mr Lavery believes every Scot should be proud today.

“This referendum is a historic one-in-a-generation moment for Scotland and Scots on both sides of the issue can be proud of the way the Scottish referendum has been conducted,” he said. “It is a true demonstration of democracy in action.”

Many Bermudians are following the referendum, but Mr Lavery does not believe it will have much of an impact on the Island.

“Though Bermuda would certainly feel some effect as the UK moves through a period of adjustment in the event of a Scottish ‘yes’ vote, I don’t imagine that there would be a dramatic change to our daily lives,” he said.

Caledonian Society vice president Claire Hattie, a Scot who is engaged to a Bermudian, is worried about her homeland’s future.

“Whatever the outcome, Scotland will be very much divided,” she said. “I don’t think that’s a great start for moving forward into such an uncertain future.”

Scotsman Ian Hind, who has lived in Bermuda for 17 years and is married to a Bermudian, was praying for a firm ‘no’ result.

“I’m a very, very strong no and terrified it’s going to be yes,” said Mr Hind, a former president of the Island’s Caledonian Society.

“This is such a terrible mistake if it’s yes and it can’t be reversed.

“It’s one thing to vote at a local council election, next year you can say, ‘I don’t like the policies of that party and I’m voting something different’.

“On a national level after four or five years you can flip-flop and change your mind. But you can’t flip-flop a country — there’s no going back.

“We’re changing forever.

“It’s one thing to not like some of the stuff that’s happened and want to do better with devolved powers, but we don’t know important answers to questions about whether we’ll be in Europe, what happens with the pound?

“To me, if it’s yes, you’re standing on the edge of an abyss.”

Mr Hind believes the Yes campaign sees Scotland “as a blank page and come Friday we can start anew”.

But this is not the case, he warned, and the country could end up a “tiny voice on the world stage”.

“I was brought up in life with a trade union family, my father was very active, and I remember the mantra ‘united we stand, divided we fall’.”

Mr Hind said he would “absolutely” have supported the option of ‘Devolution-Max’ which would have given Scots complete transfer of fiscal and tax-raising powers over nearly all areas of government spending.

“The Better Together campaign has come late to the table and conducted themselves appallingly because of some incompetent idiots,” he said. “But that doesn’t change my belief in the process and the macroeconomics.

“With the no campaign I know what I’ve got, what is the ideology of the Scottish Nationalist Party? They want independence, if they get that are they going to say ‘our job is done’? What’s their ideology now?”

“Gutted” will be how Mr Hind will feel if the Yes campaign is victorious.

“I’ll feel displaced, the future is uncertain,” he said. “The economy, jobs, defence, external relations ... are we going to set up embassies?

“I’ve been abroad in uncomfortable places — in Zambia we were a small minority. The police force hated expats, your only comfort was the embassy and they would only push so far because you were British.

“I’ve been in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, it means something when you’re a Brit with a passport that’s recognised.

“When you’re in a strange place and you see that Union Jack on the back of the plane you feel OK.

“That will all disappear.”

Mr Hind said that even if it’s no, “there will be a lot of unhappy people”.

“If it’s no I hope the quality of debate remains with no violence,” he said. “We’re now getting answers to questions we would never have got, that’s been amazing to see.”

Last night, the first result to come in was from Clackmannanshire — which borders Stirling and Perthshire and is the smallest council area with 0.9 percent of the Scottish electorate —, with 16,350 (46.2 percent) for yes and 19,036 (53.8 percent) for no.

The next result came from the Orkney Islands, a renowned pro-union authority, which voted overwhelming for no with 10,004 (67.2 percent) votes to 4,883 (32.8 percent).